United Airlines Planes Collide on Runway at San Francisco Airport

Plane passengers were left horrified after the aircraft they were travelling in was involved in a shock collision just as they were about to take off.

United Airlines Flight 1871 clashed with another plane on the runway at San Francisco International Airport on Monday, jolting passengers as it backed up to a gate at the major US airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane, which was bound for Denver, struck another United aircraft at around 9.10am.

Flight 1871, a Boeing 737, hit the tail of the parked Boston-bound Flight 796, which was preparing for take-off at the time, forcing the airline to deplane terrified passengers and continue the flight with a new aircraft.

United Airlines said passengers aboard both planes were “deplaned normally” with no injuries reported despite the frightening experience. Passengers have recounted the shock moment of the collision.

One traveller said they were bound for Boston when the incident took place, adding they were “in the middle of boarding” when the plane “shook”. They added that flight attendants told them to deplane as one of the pilots “said we’d been hit”. They added: “FAs told us to deplane and one of the pilots said we’d been hit. Seems like United ground crew is having a tough year.”

Another passenger said they were headed to Denver and felt a “big shudder” when the planes clashed, but added passengers were “all buckled up”.

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They added: “We were in D16, so they backed us out, down the taxiway, then pulled a big U turn to get us facing forward. Near the end of the U-Turn apparently the tug connection broke, and instead of continuing to turn, the plane just kept going backwards at an angle and hit UA796 (SFO-BOS) which I believe was at E5.”

The crash wasn’t the only issue San Francisco International and United experienced on Monday, with a separate plane to Baltimore forced to return to the airport after noticing a burning odour aboard Flight 2664.

The airline said staff made the decision “to address a plastic burning smell” and return the Boeing 737 Max 9 carrying 164 passengers back to land after it departed at around 9.47am.

As with the previous flight, United said everyone onboard was safely escorted from the plane, and a replacement flight was arranged.